Earlier this year, President Donald Trump was able to elect a conservative to the Supreme Court in the form of Neil Gorsuch, who is more ideologically conservative than the man he replaced, the late Antonin Scalia.
Of course, he’s a great scholar of the law too. Prior to his confirmation, the American Bar Association gave Gorsuch their highest rating, stating that he was well qualified to serve on the High Court.
He’s hardly the only conservative that Trump will have the opportunity to appoint to the SCOTUS, because another judge is possibly heading for retirement. Today, Justice Anthony Kennedy could possibly announce his retirement. Here’s more:
The Supreme Court’s term ends next week with growing speculation that Justice Anthony Kennedy–the panel’s most pivotal member–may retire at age 80 after 29 years on the court.
Kennedy has played an important role as the court’s swing vote on many important rulings. His departure would allow conservatives to wrest near total control of the bench for the foreseeable future.
The justice has sided with his liberal colleagues on gay rights and abortion rights, as well as some cases involving race, the death penalty and the rights of people detained without charges at the Guantanamo Bay naval base. He has written all the court’s major gay-rights decisions, including the 2015 ruling that declared same-sex marriage is a constitutional right nationwide
Several of his former law clerks have said they think he is contemplating stepping down in the next year or so.
H/T Fox News
Rumors are also swirling about the retirement of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, though she claims she’ll stay on the court for “as long as she can.” Not to be too grim, but at the age of 84, she has an expected lifespan of another six years (according to the Social Security Administration’s actuarial tables), and a 34 percent chance of dying before Trump’s first term comes to a conclusion.
That opens up the possibility for a Supreme Court stacked with conservatives for decades to come. Given Trump’s first justice pick, I’m sure his next choices will be great.
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